CBS "Face the Nation" - Transcript: Immigration and Trade Policy

Interview

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BRENNAN: And in a new CBS News/YouGov Battleground Tracker survey, voters nationwide weigh in on immigration and more.

Plus, plenty of analysis on all the news -- all coming up on FACE THE NATION.

Good morning, and welcome to FACE THE NATION.

Protests continued over the weekend, as the Department of Health and Human Services announced that there are 2,053 minors still in their custody, but that they knew the location of all of the children and created a task force to reunite them with their families.

The agency says that 522 children previously in the custody of Customs and Border Protection have been reunited with their families and another 16 children will be by later today.

But the question of a permanent fix for what to do with the families who cross the border illegally is stalled in Congress, despite pressure building for all sides to come together and address the controversial issue of immigration.

We begin with Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He joins us from Chattanooga this morning.

Senator, do you believe the U.S. was committing a human rights violation by separating migrant families?

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: Well, Margaret, it obviously is not something that is realistic. It's not something that appreciates these young children, and certainly was done in a ready, fire, aim way, obviously.

There was no preparation for it. I can't imagine any American's heart not going out to these families, knowing these children are being separated. And then where were they going?

So, I'm glad the administration took the steps they took. That's led to another crisis, if you will, because of the 20-day rule that exists. And so, you know, the administration obviously made a large mistake. I know that some in the White House want to use the immigration issue as a -- as a force to activate the base for elections, but obviously the president realized that was a mistake.

And now it's up to us in Congress to work with them to come up with a longer-term solution.

BRENNAN: Well, on that solution, you're supporting legislation that would essentially allow for longer-term detention of families, but to be held together.

Isn't this just indefinite detention at taxpayer expense?

CORKER: Yes, so, look, Margaret, I wish that we had passed the bill, the House could have made it better, that came out in 2013 that was comprehensive.

We keep trying to deal with these micro-issues, all of which are important, whether it's DACA or this issue. I realize that, before the election, that's very unlikely to occur, but we need to deal with the whole of the issue. We have got worker needs in our country. We have got this issue of, we do need to be a nation of laws.

And so we need to look at the whole thing. In the interim, between now and November, it's likely we will only deal with some of the micro-issues, and the issue just raised is a problem. So, we have got to deal with them.

BRENNAN: Do you even have the votes to deal with that micro-issue in the Senate?

CORKER: I hope we will. I know that Jim Jordan's coming on next. I know the House has some things that are coming up this week.

But I hope that will be the case. I think that the Cruz/Feinstein bill, while I'm not sure every detail has been laid out in it yet, but the fact that you have got two people with such ideological differences coming together on this issue does bode for some hope in the Senate.

BRENNAN: I want to ask you about really kind of an American values question. If you take a look at the latest CBS News poll, our Battleground Tracker, it says 73 percent of Republicans say those who enter the U.S. should be punished as an example of toughness, while 27 percent said they should be treated well as an example of kindness.

What does that say to you about the identity of your party right now?

CORKER: Margaret, look, I -- we do need to be a nation of laws, and we need to get this right. And we need to cause legal immigration to be easier than it is.

We have got needs in our country. I have just never been a part of a group that hated someone for wishing something better for their life. Maybe they have a little different color of their skin, and they speak differently. I just have never hated someone who traveled through tough conditions to try to come to a place where they could realize their dreams.

And so I'm just not part of that group that wants to punish. What I do want to do is make sure that we have...

BRENNAN: But the majority of Republicans polled identify as part of that group.

CORKER: Yes, I understand.

And I think it's a shame that what we have done with immigrants is to try to cause them to be a part of a terrorist group. I mean, many of these people truly, especially in Central America, are living in terrible conditions.

And, again, we need to be working with Central American governments, many of whom I have met with, on the issues there to make sure that, in those countries, there's more opportunity to live without threat of crime.

But, look, we need to enforce our laws, and when people break them, obviously, especially over and over again, there needs to be "punishment" -- quote, quote.

But, look, again, we have got to realize, these people are wanting to live in a place like we live. We're the most fortunate people on Earth to live in this country.

BRENNAN: Yes.

CORKER: That's why people are drawn to us. And, again, I don't -- I don't want to enforce laws out of a sense of hate or animosity towards people who want to live a life like I do.

BRENNAN: I also want to ask you about a fight that you have been willing to have with the president, and that's over trade and tariffs.

CORKER: Right.

BRENNAN: You recently accused your fellow Republicans of being cultish for not trying to block the president and support your action to rein in his ability to escalate through more tariffs.

Do you see any ability for Republicans to stop the president?

CORKER: I do.

And, Margaret, if I could make sure people understand, there's a 201 Section of the Trade Act that right now is against China dealing with washing machines and solar panels. There's a 301 component to deal with their theft of our intelligence here in the country, their theft of what our companies are using to create products.

That's not what I'm speaking to. The president broadly has used Section 232 of the Trade Act, which is national security. It's absolutely an abuse of his authority. It's being used against our European allies, Canada, Mexico, and many other countries. It has successfully...

BRENNAN: And the president's not backing off.

CORKER: He's not.

It has successfully united the world against us. There's not a person at the White House that can articulate why they are doing this, other than to create leverage on NAFTA.

And I don't know of a senator that isn't concerned about the broad use of this. So, the amendment, Margaret, is just to say that, if he's going to use 232, which has never, ever been used in this way, it's absolutely an abuse of authority, if he's going to use it, once he completes negotiations on tariffs, he should bring it to Congress.

It's our responsibility. By the way, Margaret, you know, a tariff is a tax on Americans. The president cannot put taxes...

BRENNAN: How do you get this passed, though?

CORKER: Well, I think -- I think there's a jailbreak brewing. I really do.

I think people, especially as these tariffs are being put in place against us, these countermeasures, and as people realize that 22,000 companies, 22,000 companies have asked for exemptions, the White House is only -- or the Commerce Department has only dealt with 98 of those.

There's no basis to deal with them. It's not unlike what happened on the immigration issue, where there was no preparation.

BRENNAN: Yes.

CORKER: Are they going to grant these exclusions based on political contributions?

BRENNAN: Senator, we have got to...

CORKER: Or are they going to base them on something else? So we're getting ready to have a similar situation...

BRENNAN: Yes.

CORKER: ... to what happened on the immigration policy. And I'm hoping there will be a jailbreak, and that we will move towards passing this legislation.

BRENNAN: Well, we will watch it for that jailbreak, Senator. Thank you for joining us.

CORKER: OK. Thank you.

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